Resources on Trauma and Disaster Relief for Psychologists

General Trauma Resources

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies

National Center for PTSD

Psychological First Aid Manual
The Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide (early release for Hurricane Katrina response) is an evidence-informed modular approach for assisting people in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism: to reduce initial distress, and to foster short and long-term adaptive functioning.

What do Psychologists Do At Disaster Sites?  

Provider Handouts

Mental Health Reactions After Disaster: A Fact Sheet for Providers (PDF) Covers information about normal stress responses to a disaster as well as more severe reactions and risk factors.

Psychosocial Treatment of Disaster Related Mental Health Problems: A Fact Sheet for Providers (PDF) Recommended interventions including normalizing and support strategies, a review of positive and maladaptive coping actions, and brief information on treatments for more severe stress reactions.

Pharmacological Treatment of Acute Stress Reactions and PTSD: A Fact Sheet for Providers (PDF) Information about about who should be provided with pharmacological treatment, when treatment should begin, and what it includes.

Assessing and Responding to Suicidal Intent: A Fact Sheet for Providers (PDF) Includes important questions for medical professional to ask, guidance on how to handle suicidal intent, and provides resources for more information.

Survivor Handout

Reactions to a Major Disaster: A Fact Sheet for Survivors and their Families (PDF) Provides information about normal stress reactions, other mental health problems that commonly occur following a disaster, and explains the recovery process.

Disaster Response Workers

Aid Worker Stress and Trauma and More Website created with guidance from USAID and others following the tsunami disaster. Includes handouts.

Disaster Rescue and Response Workers Information about the effects of traumatic stress on disaster rescue and response workers, as well as coping and self-care strategies

Working with Trauma Survivors In-depth information for volunteers, rescue workers, health care workers, and journalists

Helping Survivors in the Wake of Disaster Concise information for volunteers, mental-health clinicians, chaplains, and medical personnel about the effects of traumatic stress and how to help survivors of disasters.

Hardship Disaster Assignments - Guidelines for wellness from the Monterey Bay Psychological Association
Mental Health Screening - assessment for those going on a disaster assignment
Coping on Assignments
Thoughts on Hardship Disaster Assignments
Post-Assignment Check-In - helping to maintain volunteer self-care and mental wellness

Understanding Disaster Trauma

Psychosocial Consequences of Major Hurricanes and Floods A summary of research by Dr. Fran Norris extracted from a comprehensive review of the disaster mental health literature, focusing on the aftermath of hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and dam collapses.

Phases of Traumatic Stress Reactions in a Disaster Describes the normal phases of traumatic stress reactions in a disaster situation.

Effects of Traumatic Stress in a Disaster Situation Information about the effects of traumatic stress in a disaster situation, including PTSD, Acute Stress Disorder, bereavement, and other common traumatic stress reactions

Mental-Health Intervention for Disasters Describes several phases and types of mental-health intervention and includes research support for each intervention

Anger and Trauma Anger can be a common reaction to trauma. This sheet describes why this is so, how anger can become a problem, and some of the issues involved in treating anger in response to trauma.

Grief and Death

Casualty and Death Notification A curriculum on compassionate casualty/death notification for professional counselors and victim advocates

Managing Grief after Disaster Information about the nature of traumatic bereavement and grief as well as risk factors and treatment options

Early Intervention

Early Intervention for Trauma: Current Status and Future Directions Identifies the core issues in early intervention that need to be addressed in resolving the debate over psychological debriefing (PD). It critiques the available evidence for PD and the early provision of cognitive behavioral therapy.

Back to Basics in Treating Victims of Hurricane Katrina  Practical suggestions for counselors working with victims from psychologists in the U.S. Virgin Islands who survived Hurricanes Hugo and Marilyn.

Recommendations for Pharmacologic Treatment of Acute Stress Reactions Provides recommendations on pharmacologic treatment for acute stress reactions.

Treating Survivors in the Acute Aftermath of Traumatic Events A treatment model for acute stress is described.

Cautions on Mental Health Interventions Provided Within a Month of Trauma Describes the issues commonly encountered in individuals with Acute Stress Disorder or early traumatic stress, which must be carefully addressed in considering treatment options for these individuals

Publications and Newsletters

Psychological Consequences of Disaster A Research Quarterly publication by Dr. Fran Norris

Traumatic Loss and the Syndrome of Complicated Grief A Research Quarterly publication by Drs. Shear and Smith-Caroff

Natural and Technological Disasters A book chapter by Somasundaram, Norris, Asukai, and Murthy.

Other Publications

This fact sheet, provided by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, provides Psychological First Aid information for helping victims in the immediate aftermath of disaster.

Disaster Mental Health Services: A Guidebook for Clinicians and Administrators Provides practical guidelines and background information to assist clinicians, administrators, and their organizations in developing disaster mental health response strategies, disaster mental health team formation and maintenance, and strategies for interfacing with the federal disaster response system.